Tennessee fires head football coach Dooley
BY STEVE MEGARGEE Associated Press
Monday, November 19, 2012
11/19/12 at 5:33 AM
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Tennessee Athletic Director Dave Hart has no doubt that Derek Dooley improved the Volunteers' football program after inheriting a tough situation three years ago.
But that improvement didn't show up in Tennessee's record, so Dooley no longer is the Vols' coach.
Dooley was fired Sunday after posting Tennessee's longest run of consecutive losing seasons in over a century. Dooley owned a 15-21 record that included an 0-15 mark against Top 25 teams. He was 4-19 in Southeastern Conference competition and had lost 14 of his last 15 league games.
"This is a result-based profession," Hart said. "You cannot ignore the results at the end of the day."
The Vols' (4-7, 0-7 SEC) must beat Kentucky on Saturday to avoid going winless in SEC play for the first time in school history.
Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney will serve as Tennessee's interim coach for the Kentucky game. Hart said Dooley turned down an opportunity to coach the season finale out of concern that it would affect the players' focus.
Original Print Headline: Tennessee fires football coach
